Oh, hello there! Were you just thinking you'd like a bite of cheesecake without the bother of water baths or a hot kitchen? One that would, perhaps, win you friends and earn you accolades at backyard picnics this summer? Why, me too! Great minds really do think alike.

While you could theoretically start the ice cream for this pie on Saturday morning and serve it that evening, it's better and easier to think of this as a two-day affair. Prepare the ice cream base and freeze it in the graham cracker crust on one day, and plan on serving it the next.

It should also go without saying that you can replace the blueberry topping on this cheesecake pie with any fruit your cheesecake-loving heart desires. If your fruit is very fresh and ripe, don't even bother making it into a sauce -- just slice the fruit and arrange it right on top of the pie.

Blueberry or otherwise, sauce or no sauce, the fruit topping is best added just before serving so you get the contrast of that soft and juicy fruit with the cold and creamy ice cream.

One last thing: Astute observers will note that if you make the crust yourself, this recipe is no longer truly "no-bake." I find that making a graham cracker crust is so quick and easy that it barely heats the kitchen. However, a store-bought graham cracker crust is a perfectly fine option here and the choice is yours.

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Pie

The ice cream recipe adapted from "Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home," by Columbus, Ohio's ice cream savant Jeni Britton Bauer (Artisan Books, 2011). Note that this recipe directs you to make more ice cream than you need to make a pie. That's because smaller batches of ice cream just don't seem to churn as well in the ice cream machine.

Twenty-four hours before making the ice cream, place the bowl of your ice cream maker in the freezer.

The graham cracker crust (if making by hand) and blueberry sauce can either be prepared ahead of time or while the ice cream base is chilling. Both need to be completely cooled to room temperature before assembling the ice cream pie.

For the blueberry sauce, combine the blueberries, brown sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice in a small pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until a the berries have released their juices and become syrupy, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir occasionally, but try not to mash up the berries too much. Remove from heat and allow to cool. The syrup can be made up to a week ahead.

To make the ice cream, cut the cream cheese into small pieces and place in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk together the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of the milk in a separate ramekin and set aside.

Bring the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup and salt to a boil in a large saucepan, and continue boiling for 4 minutes. The milk will double in bulk as it bubbles, so use at least a 4-quart saucepan or larger for this step. If it looks like the milk is going to bubble over the sides, lower the heat just enough so that the milk is still bubbling but no longer threatening to boil over.

Remove the saucepan from heat and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Bring it back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until it just starts to thicken, about 1 minute.

Add the lemon zest to the milk (reserve the juice to add once the milk is chilled; adding it to hot milk can cause curdling). Whisk the hot milk into the cream cheese in several additions, whisking between each addition to melt the cream cheese evenly. Let cool to room temperature, then chill completely in the fridge for at least two hours or overnight.

When the ice cream has chilled, stir in the reserved lemon juice and churn it in your ice cream maker until thick, about 20 minutes (or according to your ice cream maker's instructions). Pour about half the ice cream into the cooled pie crust, filling it right up to the edge. Press a square of parchment to the surface of the pie and freeze at least 4 hours or overnight. (The remaining ice cream can be transferred to a freezer-safe container and frozen for midnight snacking.)

When ready to serve, spoon the cooled blueberry syrup over the pie and slice into wedges. Leftover pie can be frozen with the blueberry sauce on top.

Graham Cracker Crust

Makes one 9-inch pie crust.

12 full-size graham crackers (about 6 1/2 ounces)

1/4 cup (2 ounces) sugar, optional

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter

1/4 cup (2 ounces) water, optional

Equipment:

Food processor OR a rolling pin and a plastic bag

9-inch pie pan

1. Crumble the graham crackers: Break up the crackers and place them in the bowl of a food processor along with the sugar, if using. Pulse to break the crackers further and then process continuously until the crackers are crushed into fine crumbs. Alternatively, place all the crackers in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin until broken into fine crumbs. You should end up with about 2 cups total of graham cracker crumbs.

2. Combine with butter: Transfer the graham crackers to a bowl. Melt the butter and pour over the graham crackers. Stir until the crumbs are evenly coated and look wet. The crumbs should hold together in a clump if you press them in your fist; if not, add water a tablespoon at a time until this happens.

3. Press into a pie pan: Heat the oven to 375 F. Pour the crumbs into a 9-inch pie pan and press them evenly along the bottoms and sides.

4. Bake the crust: If you are making a no-bake pie, like Ice Cream Pie, pre-bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes until dry and fragrant. Cool completely before proceeding with the recipe. For a baked pie, like pumpkin or custard pie, fill the pie and bake according to the recipe instructions.

Notes:

-- In place of graham crackers, you can use ginger snaps, nilla wafers, chocolate wafer cookies, chocolate graham crackers, cinnamon grahams or any other cookie or cracker that is dry and crumbles easily.

-- Baked crusts can be wrapped in foil and frozen for up to three months. No need to thaw before filling -- the crust will be thawed and perfect by the time you set the pie on the table.

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Pie

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